filtration transition

[Jeff_F]

I received an Oase Biomaster Thermo 250 as a birthday gift to replace my HOB filter.  I'm trying to decide on how to transition from the HOB to the canister filter.  Should I run both filters for awhile or put the filter media from the HOB into a canister tray for awhile?  I use Aquarium Coop's filter sponge material in the HOB and on the intake tube.  I'd prefer putting the filter material into the canister in order to eliminate the HOB.  Does it make any difference?

I plan on using Oase's medium sponge in the prefilter and also in the first tray along with some filter floss.  I have some pot scrubbers that I'm going to use in the other filter trays.

[Guppysnail]

Yes you can just move the media. Do not rinse too well when transitioning. You will lose the BB growing on the plastic of the hob. It should not make much of a difference. You may have a day or two of tiny ammonia maybe tiny nitrite spikes. Just test. I’ve done that several times. You’re safe to be done with the HOB as long as you keep an eye on it. 

[TOtrees]

You're asking the right questions, which tells me you have enough knowledge to do either of the options you suggest successfully. 🙂 If it were me, I'd use squeezings from the HOB sponge to seed media in the canister, then run both for 2-4 weeks. 

[lefty o]

id run both for a few days to a week.

[nabokovfan87]

Easy mode:
-add your ceramic media into the canister filter mixed in with the new ceramic media provided.
-squeeze out the sponge material into the tank after you setup the new filtration and let that bacteria and "gunk" go into the new filtration setup to seed it.
-use stability (seachem) or another bacterial starter product if you run into issues.

Advanced mode:
-hook up the canister filter doing all of the above methods, let them both run simultaneously for 1-2 weeks as you see fit.
-test your water parameters daily so you can monitor ammonia or nitrite issues
-Once you're set to clean out the prefilters on the Oase filter, then you should be set to remove the HoB.

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/16/2023 at 4:50 AM, Jeff_F said:

I plan on using Oase's medium sponge in the prefilter and also in the first tray along with some filter floss.  I have some pot scrubbers that I'm going to use in the other filter trays.

You have a very high powered filtration setup.  Now would be the time to spend $15-30 on some decent quality ceramic media.  Someone like Sicce or other have a variety of suitable, affordable options that won't break the bank.  Eheim has the substrat pro.  There's the classic biorings as well.  I am all for saving money, but you may thank yourself by having at least one tray of ceramic media.

Ceramic media (biological):

mechanical filtration media (base of the canister).  Pondguru has a lot of videos on how to use this type of media.

Edited August 16 by nabokovfan87
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[Galabar]

My approach would be to move some (maybe < 50%) of the media from the HOB to the canister and run them both for a month.  The Oase comes with media.  So, just mix the two together.  You should be fine.

You are probably Ok with just moving all the media and removing the HOB.  However, I would feel more comfortable running them in parallel for a while.

Edited August 16 by Galabar

[RennjiDK]

On 8/16/2023 at 7:50 AM, Jeff_F said:

I received an Oase Biomaster Thermo 250 as a birthday gift to replace my HOB filter.  I'm trying to decide on how to transition from the HOB to the canister filter.  Should I run both filters for awhile or put the filter media from the HOB into a canister tray for awhile?  I use Aquarium Coop's filter sponge material in the HOB and on the intake tube.  I'd prefer putting the filter material into the canister in order to eliminate the HOB.  Does it make any difference?

I plan on using Oase's medium sponge in the prefilter and also in the first tray along with some filter floss.  I have some pot scrubbers that I'm going to use in the other filter trays.

Nitrifying bacterial colonies can double in size in a matter of hours. Pull the filter media and/or sponge out of the HOB, rinse it off, and just toss it in the new canister. There's no reason to run them both at the same time or squeeze old detritus into your new clean filter.